The Room that Stood Still in Time
by spirit-mage-234
Summary: Re-release. Two months since the battle over the fate of Japan, and she waits for his return to his friends. And to her. A brief one-shot between Kaoru and a dormant Kenshin.


**The Room that Stood Still in Time**

**_If time could stand still.....Damn, I can't think of a witty/snappy remark. Kenshin isn't mine._**

**Warnings: Er, hope and anticipation?**

Though the spring quickly turns into summer, everyday the view outside the window appears to be the same. While sitting by the window, Kaoru thought about these observations daily. 'The same blue sky, the same little birds flying through the air.. Even the flower refuses to wilt,' she thought while gazing at the purple flower in a vase, in which a beautiful butterfly landed in the rich petal. Kaoru drew her hand out to the flower, and soon enough, the delicate butterfly crawled onto her slender finger. She gazed at the butterfly's shimmering yellow and black wings, and smile crept on her face at the butterfly's beauty and gentleness. Kaoru had been seeing this same butterfly ever since she brought the flower in, almost a month ago... another occurance that remained consistant for almost thirty days now.

Above all, the inside of this room above the Shirobeko remained the same as well. Upon looking at the buttefly's gentle nature, Kaoru's eyes turned to the other gentle-natured being whom she held dearest to her heart, who, for the past month was only gentle in his silence. Kaoru guided her hand back to the flower where the butterfly could continue to rest and lap the pollen. She then carefully crept over to the man's side, cautious not to wake him. But she knew in her heart that he would not wake, at least not today. It had been almost a month since Kenshin's fateful battle with Shishio at Mt. Hiei, almost a month since Kaoru, Yahiko and the Onibanwashu defended the Aoiya, but, almost two months since...

Kaoru shook her head. She hated thinking back at the cherry blossom grove where Kenshin said farewell to her before departing to Kyoto. It happened two months ago, but it seemed so fresh in her memory, like it happened just yesterday...

"Kenshin..." Kaoru murmured under her breath as she extended a hand toward Kenshin's red locks. These last thirty days were the first times that Kaoru saw Kenshin sleeping, and oh - he looked so peaceful, lying in the his futon. If only he was at peace. When Kenshin, Sanosuke and Aoshi finally arrived back to the delapedated Aoiya after the day that lasted for an eternity, Kenshin was so wounded and exhausted from his fight with Shishio that he went unconcious for a month, only after opening his eyes to see Kaoru rushing to his side one last time. After that, Kaoru sat countless hours in Kenshin's room - the room that stood still during time - waiting for him to open his beautiful, violet orbs once again. Every morning when she awoke, she went straight to Kenshin's room to see if he had awoke during the night, and then again after she had done her chores in the Shirobeko. Kaoru would visit one last time before bed, wishing Kenshin a good night and praying to the stars that he would be up and about the next morning.

Through all of Kaoru's waiting, Kenshin never awoke.

Megumi would constantly nag Kaoru to cease in disturbing Kenshin and that he needed his rest. Kaoru simply scoffed at this suggestion: she hadn't seen Kenshin for over a month before the battle with Shishio. How could she possibly take her eyes off of him now? The answer: she wasn't going to. Not until Kenshin awoke to see her as his first sight. At least, she hoped that she would be the first person that Kenshin would lay eyes on.

Of course, deep down, Kaoru didn't care who Kenshin first saw when he finally decided to wake up: it could be - Kami have mercy - Megumi for all she cared, just as long as Kenshin would be awake, so that she could hear his voice again. Kaoru's hand shook at this thought as she trailed it from his bangs to his still hand. She squeezed it tightly as she began to speak.

"Kenshin," Kaoru began, "the sakura are long gone, just so you'll know... But the trees still look so beautiful, and even though it's summer, it's not very hot outside. The weather has been treating us well..." Lips beginning to tremble, she spoke on. "You have to wake up soon, Kenshin. People are waiting for you... I'm waiting for you. I never thought I'd say it, but I miss your humble way of speaking, and-" a single crystal tear slipped from the cerulean lakes called Kaoru's eyes, and landed on her palm, only soon to slid down and difuse on Kenshin's hand. "-You just have to wake up Kenshin!" Kaoru cried, not loud enough for the others to hear, but enough to carry her emotions out so the kamis could hear. "There are so many things that I want to know about you. You're still so mysterious to me. And- there are things I want to tell you about me, like-" even though noone was around to hear or look, Kaoru couldn't help but blush as she whispered into Kenshin's ear. Though she was sure that he was still unconcious, Kaoru's words were nearly inaudible, as she softened her voice in case Kenshin's unconciousness was merely a facade. Her crpytic message to the ear was followed by a soft kiss to Kenshin's lips. For one moment, she could almost hear Kenshin's signature "oro" at the touch of her tender lips on his, but she knew it was only a fabrication of her imagination. She leaned toward his lips again, though they were barely touching.

"Remember Kenshin: You promised me that we would go back to Tokyo together." Kaoru looked at a nearby clock. It was almost time for her afternoon shift downstairs. "I'll be back later. Bye."

Releasing his hand, Kaoru stood up, straightened her face, and proceeded to the door, only to look back on Kenshin's form one more time before descending down the steps to the busy scene of Kyoto once again. Kaoru had left the room that stood still in time once again at peace, with nothing changed just as the day before and so on. Little did she know that on this day, a piece of time would slip through the stream, as a small smile crept onto Kenshin's lips, which soon slowly mouthed her sweet fragrant, name.

The butterfly fluttered from its position on the flower.

* * *

A/n:

So, I was totally meaning to get a beta for this, especially since this is a re-release, but, 1) the beta that I messaged didn't message me back, 2) I didn't feel like finding another one, and 3) why? I'm regaining confidence in my writing, so aside from the common spelling and grammtical error, neh. Though, if you would like to beta my work (preferably my canonical fics like this one) - and if you are a certified beta - do inform me.

Guess who watched Kenshin for the first time in who knows how many weeks (months?).

There is clearly no need for a sequel to this one-shot, seeing that this takes place during the Kyoto Arc, so don't bother.

And, seriously, concerning the second to the last sentence (right above), how often do you guys watch Kenshin? I mean, it's wierd. You're always writing for this fandom, and yet, you only watch the actual show every once in awhile. I get my (official; no fan-based) fix through screenshots, graphics, the soundtracks, and the manga. What do YOU do???

Update: (School) Computers are silly. They, with their sticky keys, give you the illusion of typing a word, when in reality, it comes out completely different, such as "time" coming out as "Tim". That, and mouse arrows often do a tricky little thing when you select an item from a scroll bar, but before you even notice it, the mouse selects the item before the one you selected, such as selecting "humor" when you intentionally selected "drama" which is below "humor". So, I guess if this story were named "The Room that Stood Still in Tim", it would fit under the "humor" genre.

But it doesn't.

Which is why I reminded you of the titled twice (right at the top of the page in bold and underline) once more here: "The Room that Stood Still in **Time**": a Romance/**Drama** Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction.

Thank you, and, good night.


End file.
